Preview: Dwell on Design 2013 – our 10 hot picks

One of the largest design extravaganzas is hitting the US this weekend. Dwell on Design (DOD) is America’s largest contemporary design event that takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

This year more than 400 exhibitors, 200 speakers, 2000 products and 30,000 attendees are expcted. DOD has become the largest design event in the US, showing how influential design is in every aspect of our modern world.

Much like European trade shows, Dwell on Design is broken up into zones, taking visitors on a journey through constructed wonderlands such as Dwell Outdoor, the Tech Zone, the modern family lounge – as well as furniture and kitchen & bath.

Here’s a round up 10 objects you should look out for:

Helios Bench by Galanter and Jones

Galanter & Jones introduces Helios, a line of radiantly heated, cast stone outdoor furniture, the first of it’s kind. The Helios lounge has a smooth, ergonomically shaped surface that heats up when you plug it in, pulling only as much energy as an ordinary hair dryer. It’s as relaxing as sitting in a hot tub, but without getting wet. Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco called it, ‘the simplest and most welcome innovation in garden furniture we’ve seen in, oh, forever.”galanterandjones.com

Peace Industry

This San Francisco-based purveyor of high quality handmade felt rugs is showing one of its newest designs, the Pod Rug, at Dwell on Design. The company’s rugs seamlessly blend traditional craft with contemporary art and design. Firmly committed to preserving the ancient art of felt making, Peace Industry creates its colorful collections out of its workshop in Turkey according to fair trade practices. All rugs are made sustainably by local artisans out of 100% lamb’s wool in the same way that the nomads of Central Asia have been doing it for centuries. peaceindustry.com

Looma

Looma is a contemporary lighting design and manufacturing company offering high-quality lamps made from handmade glass, bamboo and LEDs. Handcrafted in Berkeley, California. We love these funky lights – they are sure to add a splash of colour to your interiors.

Dodcahedron Fire Urn by Cooke Furniture

This unique shape can be made in various sizes and can be made into a fire pit, a planter or almost any other sculptural object. cookefurniture.com

Sinous Floor Lamp by Marcus Papay

One of the many new products 100% California are bringing to Dwell on Design is the Sinous Floor Lamp by Marcus Papay. Sinuous lamps are a blend of modern aesthetics and vintage forms. The fiberglass-spun shades are made with fiberglass strands and Entropy resin, a sustainable renewable material that is derived from bio-refineries. The shade is then trimmed with either Maple or Walnut to match the body of the lamp. All lamps are supplied with a dimmable vintage style bulb for that nostalgic detail.

Bubble Vase by Heather Palmer

Another piece by a 100% California designer. This piece is handblown directly over the wood piece it rests on. Spontaneous and free flowing these are moments in time where the piece is made in response to the wood. The texture and character of the wood is imprinted on the glass and this is how the glass fits onto the piece. They are not glued together but rather fit as a result of the making process. Each piece is unique and cannot be duplicated, they are literally a moment in time.

Zipp Wireless Sound System by Libratone

The A+R Pop Up shop will be at Dwell on Design once again this year with specially edited picks of the newest ground-breaking products for living from around the world. Most goods featured make their U.S. debut to the public during the weekend.

The Wireless sound system wrapped in changeable Italian wool will be one of the many new items showing. Stream tunes directly from your music device. Up to eight hours of battery time and the patented FullRoom™ technology creates a 360° sound experience. Speaker covers are also sold separately with eight vivid colors to choose from. A+R will be one of the first retailers in the US to carry this product.

Vang Chair by Andreas Engesvik

A new exhibition, Insidenorway, will present five great Norwegian companies—Mandal Veveri, Røros Tweed, Stokke, VAD, and Variér—in addition to 21 new prototypes by emerging young designer and established talents in the exhibition, “The Essence of Things: New Designs from Norway” curated by Paul Makovsky, editorial director of Metropolis Magazine.

One of these new products highlighted is the Vang chair – inspired by Alf Sture’s Windsor chairs, designed for the Norwegian company Tonning Møbler in the 1960s. It’s clean, minimal lines and steam-bent top piece is synonymous with Scandinavian design. Oslo-based designer and founder of Norway Says, Andreas Engesvik, redesigned this classic chair for Tonning Møbler to fit into a contemporary context.

Bowling is an impeccably designed and executed set of wooden bowls, created by Peter Skogstad, Hallgeir Homstvedt, and Anderssen & Voll. Made of solid ash, with optional stains in pink, white, and grey, the set of three minimalist bowls are waxed and polished to create a deep, glowing finish. They are now being produced by One Nordic Furniture Company.”

The Love Table by VIBRATIONAL FURNITURE

This table is part of the new Gallery Collection debuting at Dwell on Design.

For more information, visit the Dwell on Design website or twitter, @DwellonDesign, for news and updates on the event, set to take place between 21st – 23rd June.

Assif is a luxury travel and design aficionado currently working as a BBC content producer. He holds an MA in journalism from the University of Leeds. He is partial to tea and cake - Yorkshire Tea Gold Blend please. His favourite trips include island hopping in the Seychelles, a mountain escape in Kashmir and getting lost in Hong Kong.

Assif is the current editor of Adelto Magazine. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @journolista.

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